SDMB Weight Loss Club: Spring 2005 Edition

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
121

I’ve posted a few times that after losing 52 lbs I have been stalled out at 140 for over 6 weeks. I asked advice how to break the plateau and heard lots of helpful things (sometimes conflicting!) Eat more, eat less, change up the workout, increase duration, increase intensity, add weights.

I found a couple of online calculators to figure out how many calories it would take someone of my height/weight/age/activity level to maintain and found anywhere from 2100-2400. So frustrating, if I was eating 1600 calories a day and needed 2100 to maintain, why wasn’t I losing more weight? Calories in fewer than calories expended, right?

When the weight loss stopped, the first impulse was to just eat less, that seemed logical. Cut calories, lose weight - stop losing weight, cut more calories.

I know that the body and metabolism are a lot more complicated than calories in, calories burned, something else was going on. I’ve always been a believer in the “starvation diet” effect - a body at risk will conserve fat stores. My body got used to 1600 calories a day, it figured that was all it was going to get and made do with that. It’s the same principle that I would really appreciate on a wagon trail going West or if I were playing Survivor.

When I started to plateau, it was VERY tempting to cut calories again, but I realized I didn’t want to teach my body to make do with even LESS. That didn’t seem very smart - I could see a future where I maintained at 1400 calories or 1200 calories. There was also the very real risk that lowering my calorie intake could lead to cycles of binge/restrict as my body fought to get the required nourishment. Up to this point, I have been blessedly free of binging (I haven’t “cheated” one time in 10 months!!)

So, I did three things - 1) added a toning video instead of cardio every day 2) increased calories to 1700-1800 (while eating the same healthy foods) 3) quit looking at the scale.

Three weeks later (after a total of 9 weeks at 140) - I am at 138.

I had promised myself I wouldn’t weigh myself, but I took a good look at myself in the mirror this morning and just got on the scale to confirm what I already knew - the plateau was broken.

192/138/135

122

Wow, Glory! Congrats! That must feel wonderful.

I am still plugging away at it, slowly but surely.

280/226/160

123

I lost 48 pounds last year on Weight Watchers Online, and I’ve gained back 5 since December. I had two surgeries earlier this year (removing a benign tumor, not anything weight-related) that killed my metabolism and made me feel generally blah and un-diety.

I’m back on the wagon starting today. I’ve been good so far! My husband is also trying to lose weight now so it helps having a partner. I’ve never been a healthy weight since I’ve been an adult, so I don’t know exactly what my goal weight should be. I was using 137 as a preliminary goal but I don’t know if that’s realistic for my body. I’m sure I’ll know when I get there.

My biggest challenge is late afternoon and after-dinner snacking. I need to invest in a big bag of baby carrots and fat-free dip!

Would anyone be interested in a recipe swap for good, healthy, meals and snacks? We could put it in a separate thread if anybody wants to share some. I have a few I can dig up later.

242/199/137(?)

124

Ooh, I would! I have a couple of good ones, and I need more ideas.

125

All right, let’s fire this baby up again!

Well, I ended up taking two weeks off from working out on account of my wrenched back. I tried going in one day late in the first week, just to do some easy cardio, but I was still too stiff and I didn’t stay long. Got a massage and just took it easy, and considered a few days’ worth of walking around shopping and such my exercise. I did my best to keep up with reasonable eating habits, but I also found that ice cream is a fine medication for a stiff back. :smiley:

When I went back, I was afraid to get back on the scale, and I was sort of right: I was up a few pounds. But that was also, erm, “party week,” and by the end of the week when all the bloat was gone, I was back down to 203!

I started back with the weights this week, going easy and switching to seated position for a few exercises. So far, so good. Today I weighed in at a solid 202. Yesterday I found that I was able to pull my old jeans down over my butt without undoing them! (OK, so they’ve got a touch of elastic on the sides of the waistband, but really they’re so baggy on me now that I never would have bought them fitting like this.) And I’m down 2 BMI numbers.

So 2 pounds to go to reach my under-200 goal by May 31. I won’t kick myself if I don’t quite get there, since I had to take two weeks off and I’m damn close already. There’s a family gathering on June 4, though, and I’d love to be able to tell my mom that I’m under 200. Work it, baby!

Oh, and I’ve lost 7 inches total off bust, waist, belly, and hips. Yeah!!

216 / 202 / 150